Uconn

Connecticut's Breanna Stewart, left, and Notre Dame's Ariel Braker, right, fight for possession of the ball during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Storrs, Conn., Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013. Notre Dame won 73-72. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

STORRS — The record is impressive, the statistics can be mind-boggling and often times the disparity in talent between the UConn women's basketball team and its opponents is simply absurd.

Yet for the Huskies to achieve their goal of winning a national championship, they have to look beyond the obvious and view the big picture more clearly. And when they widen their scope of vision enough, they understand that their success is fragile.

UConn's last two seasons ended prematurely with losses to Notre Dame in the national semifinals because the Huskies didn't have enough depth of talent. They became too reliant upon a small core of players, and when that core was compromised through untimely exposure of a few flaws, the Huskies imploded.

Coach Geno Auriemma looks at this year's team and sees essentially the same core of players that led UConn to the Final Four last year. He knows there is enough talent in the starting lineup to get back there, but he's unsure if the team's depth has improved enough for the Huskies to take those final few steps toward another national title.

With only 10 games left in the regular season, starting with today's game at St. John's, Auriemma is pushing the three freshmen and two sophomores on his bench to step up and make an impact.

"Obviously the hope has always been that the young guys develop quickly, but sometimes they don't," Auriemma said. "Or sometimes you see glimpses of it and then it is gone. I think what we have to do is get more consistency out of those guys. They don't have to be great. They have to be good."

There is plenty of talent on the bench, starting with freshman forward Breanna Stewart, who is second on the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game and leads the team in rebounding (7.0). Stewart, however, has yet to show she is capable of playing well in a big game.

The smooth jump shot, offensive confidence and great rebounding ability she's displayed at times has disappeared in big moments as lack of focus or confidence have

See WOMEN, Page 6C

rendered her ineffective.

"It should be there always," Stewart said. "I should be able to do it all the time. That is my mindset. And going into games, I am going to think that I can do it. I have confidence in myself. I know that I can provide a spark off the bench. I just need to go out and do it."

When asked to explain her lack of consistency, she couldn't, and therein lies the Huskies' biggest problem. Each of the bench players has shown very encouraging signs this season, but whether or not they can be depended upon to perform when needed remains to be seen.

"I think we have the type of bench that can make an impact," Hartley said. "I think Morgan (Tuck) and Moriah (Jefferson) give us sparks in different ways. I think Stewie is a great scorer so she can come in and provide that inside presence and play outside. And Moriah, I think she is one of those feisty little defenders who can come in and spark our defense and just push the tempo for our offense. Morgan is just a solid post player who makes a lot of good strong moves in there. I think they each add a different aspect to our team we need going down the road."

Auriemma said he knows Stokes will play pretty good defense, block a few shots and rebound if she feels motivated to do so on a particular day. If the Huskies are playing an uptempo, fullcourt game, he knows Jefferson can be a huge factor because of her speed and willingness to run.

Stokes said she feels like she is letting the team down by not being dependable enough to earn playing time to give center Stefanie Dolson a break.

"I haven't had the results that I wanted, and I want it to start," Stokes said. "You've got to start somewhere so why not today?''

Auriemma believes Tuck could have a huge impact in the post or on the wing because she has the body, range and intelligence to play very effectively from 15 feet in. She's been hampered, however, by a bad knee bruise and by her worrisome personality.

"Morgan is a lot better than she has had a chance to show," Auriemma said. "If she wasn't such a worry wart, she would be great. If she had Kaleena Lewis' mentality, she would be starting and playing 30 minutes."

Tuck said there is a feeling the bench is letting the team down, because it can't even protect the big leads the starters have built up in blowout games. That has to change to warrant confidence.

"Even though we're not necessarily losing the game for us, in the bigger games if we're out the we're not going to be helping and you can potentially hurt the team," Tuck said. "Or we just won't be out there because the coaches don't feel that we can keep up the intensity level."

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